Chicago has always had a New York problem. Similarly to the way “coastal elites” like to dictate to what they often deem ‘flyover country’, the relationship between NYC and the ‘Go has been marked by a consistent insistence from the east coast that they know better. If you’re from Chicago, there’s an innate inner-eyeroll that comes about whenever a New Yorker starts telling us what’s what. Despite what they may think we don’t aspire to be them, we aren’t looking for advice and, most importantly, we don’t need Garry McCarthy for Mayor.
After filing paperwork to run against incumbent and former boss Rahm Emanuel back in September 2017, this week a website (GarryforMayor.com) was created by the exploratory committee for his possible campaign. McCarthy, the former Chicago Police Superintendent who was fired by Emanuel in 2015 in the wake of the Laquan McDonald shooting by police officer Jason Van Dyke has been largely quiet since. Throughout his career, McCarthy has tallied a laundry list of issues ranging from his consistent support for stop and frisk in Newark, New York City and Chicago as well as a 2015 Chicago Magazine feature that pointed out his classification of homicides as accidental deaths and doctored numbers.
In short, Garry McCarthy must be out of his goddamn mind to think he can run the City of Chicago.
You see, the more grievous mistake is one that McCarthy likely isn’t even aware of. Blinded by his own hubris, the Bronx native actually believes that he can garner support from a populace that has seen dozens of its fellow citizens gunned down or illegally held by the officers he oversaw. His announcing a run for mayor is in line with a fellow out-of-touch New Yorker, Spike Lee, trying to dictate the city’s narrative with his film, Chiraq. The thing New Yorkers will never understand about Chicago is the pride that comes from spending your days here, toughing out winters here, understanding what it’s like to be overlooked. Because of that, Spike made his movie and defended it and McCarthy will probably pursue his campaign. They just don’t possess that subtle understanding of how people move, and that’s not to say Rahm, of the gilded North Shore knows any better. The thing is, the latter is smart enough to surround himself with those who do. In short, he knows how to play the machine and in Chicago, sacrificial lambs don’t garner clout. Anyone seen moving towards the McCarthy camp in the next few months can surely forget any future in local politics afterwards like Chris Christie in the wake of Trump.
To be honest, McCarthy honestly believing he has a chance at running against Emanuel is akin to Anthony Scaramucci announcing his plans for 2020. Once again, sacrificial lambs don’t garner clout. Besides the fact that McCarthy would have few local politicians or otherwise in his corner, he’d most certainly face the brunt of sometimes-mistaken Midwestern loyalty. Rahm may not be ideal, but at least he’s from here. With Chuy Garcia looking to take over Luis Gutierrez’s state senate seat, the only honest local candidate has removed himself from contention, further inflating Emanuel’s chances. Remember, last election was close mainly because of the failures of McCarthy’s police under Emanuel’s oversight. It’d be tough to split hairs in a debate on who was right or wrong. At the end of the day, Emanuel’s been here and knows us, while McCarthy is an ogre-ish relic of 90s New York tropes with no place in Chicago in 2018.
[If you couldn’t survive the political machine, what makes you think you can run it? Garry McCarthy has done much in his short time spent in Chicago to undermine the already fragmented trust between citizens and police, going so far as to criticize the choice of Eddie Johnson to succeed him as the city’s first black Police Superintendent. If nothing else, he’s proved that his bid for mayor is backed only by his ego, an certainly not by any Chicagoans. Take your ass back to The Bronx Garry, we’re good.